Top cop: deport criminals, save time and money

Stuart Cumming
Reporter
Stuart studied journalism at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. He worked briefly at Central Queensland News and Warwick Daily News. He has worked as a reporter at The Chronicle since July 2009.

A TOP detective wants to lighten the workload on police and the community by sending home foreigners who repeatedly break the law.

Sunshine Coast District Criminal Investigation Branch officer-in-charge Daren Edwards is fed up with dealing with recidivist offenders who burden taxpayers funding their incarceration.

Detective Senior Sergeant Daren Edwards.Kari Bourne

Detective Senior Sergeant Edwards has completed a submission to Queensland Police Service hierarchy about the budgetary and community benefits of deporting foreign criminals.

"We see it as a way of reducing crime," Det Snr Sgt Edwards said. "There are incentives to save the government money as well."

But despite the close relationship, Det Snr Sgt Edwards said there was an apparent lack of clarity in the way the department chose people to be deported.

He referred to the case of English-born Susan Beryl Wulff, 49, who had deportation proceedings started against her after being jailed in May last year for defrauding the Commonwealth Bank while managing branches at Nambour and Maroochydore.

"We are trying to request something more from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection as to why or what they seem to have as criteria as we have recidivist offenders we are trying to get rid of and nothing happens," Det Snr Sgt Edwards said.

Reader poll

Should repeat criminals from other countries be sent home?

This poll ended on 12 August 2015.

Current Results

Yes, why keep them here to clog up our system

65%

No, keep them here where they did the crime and make them pay

0%

Repeat offenders? Let's punish them properly the first time then send them home

33%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

He said the cost of a plane ticket was often less than the cost to taxpayers once a criminal had been jailed.

A 2013 report on government services showed housing a prisoner for a period of 28 days would cost at least $5712 without including capital works contributions.

"We are trying the best we can to make it better for people here," Det Snr Sgt Edwards said.

A Department of Immigration and Border Protection spokeswoman said if a non-citizen's visa was cancelled or refused under section 501 of the Migration Act, or a person completed a custodial sentence and did not hold a valid visa, they would be liable for detention and removal from Australia.

"In circumstances where unlawful non-citizens are incarcerated, following their release the department will seek to remove them directly from prison to plane," the spokeswoman said.

"In some cases people may be taken into an immigration detention facility while removal planning is finalised."

When a non-citizen's visa had been cancelled and they sought revocation consideration, the person would remain in custody or immigration detention until that revocation was decided.